National Thank A Teacher Day (23 June 2021) is an annual celebration of teachers and education staff across the country. A day to think about those helping our young people reach their potential today – whether they teach your own children or grandchildren, or are your colleagues, friends and family working in schools and colleges. Our CEO, Sinead Mc Brearty shows her appreciation for all education staff in this short video: Teachers and education staff, are working tirelessly to make sure children catch up with their education. But working during the pandem ..read more

Sarah Mullin, deputy headteacher and parent, discusses how teachers and parents can work together to do the best for young people.  It is said that we never truly know the love of a parent until we become parents ourselves. Becoming a parent certainly changed my life both personally and professionally. Every child deserves a champion As I returned to work as a senior leader after maternity leave, I felt like I was experiencing school life through a fresh pair of eyes. Standing at the gates each morning as I welcomed students into school, I understood that every child is the apple of ..read more

Sarah Mullin, deputy headteacher and parent, discusses how teachers and parents can work together to do the best for young people.  It is said that we never truly know the love of a parent until we become parents ourselves. Becoming a parent certainly changed my life for the better both personally and professionally. Every child deserves a champion As I returned to work as a senior leader after maternity leave, I felt like I was experiencing school life through a fresh pair of eyes. Standing at the gates each morning as I welcomed students into school, I understood that every child ..read more

It's Men's Health Week 14 -22 June so we asked James, Dan and Kieran, aka Teacher Peloton, to talk about what they do to put their physical and mental wellbeing first.  Research shows that men tend not to talk about their feelings and can bury themselves in their work. Dan, Kieran and James set up Teacher Peloton to tackle both this and the sense of isolation they felt during lockdown. They explain how this has helped them: Cycling with others means we spend hours riding with someone else, so talking just happens, and if we’re riding we’re not working! We are all dads with young chi ..read more

Dan, James and Kieran met when studying teaching. They discovered a mutual love for cycling and founded the Teacher Peloton Cycling Community to help feel more connected during lockdown.  Teachers and education staff can feel stressed and isolated at the best of times. During the pandemic we felt more isolated and needed to feel part of a bigger community. So we set up a remote cycling club and community for teachers, called Teacher Peloton. This gave us a way to share our interest in cycling and talk about the day-to-day issues of teaching life during lockdown ..read more

Getting our bodies moving, and enjoying some fresh air, can have a lasting positive impact on our mental health. So it was a great fit for us to organise a fundraising event that focused on just that! Strides Against Stress took place in April (Stress Awareness Month), and the aim was to run or walk 30 miles in 30 days. This was our very first virtual fundraising challenge so we were delighted that 1039 people signed up. We can  now announce that our Striders have raised… *drumroll* £50,000+ for mental health services for educators! To put this into perspective, £50,000 could fund our 24 ..read more

Our Director of Programmes, Faye McGuinness looks at how teachers and education staff can connect to nature to positively impact their mental health and wellbeing.  It’s widely understood that connecting to nature can have a lasting positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing. This year’s theme of Mental Health Awareness Week  (10-16 of May) is encouraging people to get outdoors – or bring the outdoors in! – to feel the benefit of nature. Many teachers and education staff regularly share the wonder of the natural world with pupils and students through school trips, class pets ..read more

Our Director of Programmes Faye McGuinness looks how you can recognise the symptoms of burnout and shares some tips to help you beat burnout. The term burnout was originally coined in the 1970s to describe the consequences of ‘severe stress and high ideals’ among the helping professions. These are fields where many feel a high level of moral purpose, a dedication to making a difference and an urge to go above and beyond. This well-intentioned source of motivation can take its toll on a person. If you work in education, does this sound familiar? The World Health Organisation has recently redef ..read more

“My relationship with my mentor is so difficult. I feel like they have constantly taken the wind out of my sails since I started in my post. I feel like your mentor is supposed to be your cheerleader and instead mine has impacted on my mental health. I just want to quit.” Anonymous Twitter message, March 2020 Sadly, I receive emails like the one above regularly on Twitter from NQTs and early career teachers who are struggling under the weight of training to be a teacher, alongside having an ineffective or unsupportive mentor. Teaching is a rollercoaster of a career. In any one week there can ..read more

We’re calling on you to sign up to the Strides Against Stress challenge by walking or running at least 30 miles (a mile a day) across the month of April. Here’s why: 1. April is Stress Awareness Month Teachers and all school staff are working tirelessly to keep children learning. But working in education during the pandemic has come at a huge personal cost to many. Our recent Teacher Wellbeing Index showed a sharp increase in symptoms of poor mental health, like insomnia and tearfulness. 84% of teachers and education staff describe themselves as stressed out. As schools welcome back all stude ..read more